Claw2k11

Group 2: Curse of Strahd [5e]

Unfortunately...

Crumbling Kingdoms: A player driven intrigue plot set after the fall of a great empire

Stonefall was a rather bleak looking castle, with no decorations, save a few large flags with the sigil of House Komos to remind the people of Stonetown of who their ruling lords were. As the riders were welcomed within the walls of the castle, they could see quite a few soldiers present both on the walls of the castle and inside of it, training with their various weaponry. This would be suspicious for most other houses, however, as a Marcher Lord meant to guard the kingdom from foreign incursions, Sylla needed to always have soldiers ready.

Lady Sylla was present there as well, currently overseeing the training of a few archers, with her husband and two of her personal guards at her side. She greeted the three riders with a polite smile, recognizing the insignia of the Department of Justice. She kept her smile and listened to the proposition that they had for her. Her smile grew slightly as she heard that she basically had to intimidate a Head Scholar suspected for stealing a jar of very precious spirit.

"I understand and accept the mission, sir." she said to the fellow from the Department of Justice, accepting the letter which he had handed to her. "I will head there as soon as possible with a few riders, you, however, please, rest here for the night, I'm sure you are tired from your travels all the way from the capital." With a wave of her hand, one of her guards nodded to her and began leading the three men inside the keep and to a few unused rooms within the keep itself.

Sylla waited until after the three men were no longer within earshot that she turned towards her husband. "My dear, organize twenty riders for me, this is an indirect order from the king himself and I'm afraid I cannot refuse it." She said, and her husband raised a brow as if wishing to ask what her plan was, before nodding and moving onwards towards the stables. Sylla now turned to her remaining guard with the same smile on her face. "You, my friend, will go back inside the keep and have a message sent to this Carn via raven that I wish to come and visit his institute in search for some knowledge!"

The guard nodded and headed inside the keep to have the message sent, while Sylla's smile grew to fariy large grin as she thought of the various situations this incident could go.

Crumbling Kingdoms: A player driven intrigue plot set after the fall of a great empire

I sincerely apologize for not having replied until now, but I was a tad busy dealing with some last moment college stuff. I'll try to write up a reply as soon as possible!

We be Wizards [D&D 5e]

Well, I'd choose dice rolls over point buy to be honest, even though with my luck I'll probably roll really shit stats.

We be Wizards [D&D 5e]

Double Post, sorry.

We be Wizards [D&D 5e]

Well, I might be interested...

Crumbling Kingdoms: A player driven intrigue plot set after the fall of a great empire

@Banzai Tracers

Oh, no worries, I have a fairly thick skin when it comes to these kind of things. Though I've surpassed the stage where I make OP characters, that tendency still pops up once in a while and I tend to make a character without checking if said character might not be a bit too strong.

The only real "flaw", if it can even be called that, in your sheet is the wording for your character appearance, it's a bit different from what I'm used to, though I guess that's up to personal taste... so no, as far I can see, no real flaws in your sheet.

Sure, especially since what with my county's somewhat dwindling economy, it would need a bit of naval protection of its trade. As for the extra ships, we could say that my leader is sending a sort of a "tax" to your guy so that he can maintain a slightly larger fleet, is that good?

Crumbling Kingdoms: A player driven intrigue plot set after the fall of a great empire

I'm all for it. I suppose we'd plan how the game starts, what the situation is at the beginning, that sort of thing, am I correct?

Crumbling Kingdoms: A player driven intrigue plot set after the fall of a great empire

@Strange Rodent

I've removed the spies and the goldmines and iron mines and I've decreased the amount of trade coming through Osthaven, but not removed it as I'd have literally no other way of revenue other than taxing the peasants and we all know peasants don't like being taxed. As for the fleet, I never said I had one, the ports in Osthaven are a place where the rest of the kingdom's fleet can rest, as in the fleets of other houses.

As for the marcher lord thing @Banzai Tracers, I've gotten inspiration from this so that you didn't think I just made it up.

Also, I apologize if I've offended you with my sheet and I can see how it was OP. I'm really sorry about that.

Crumbling Kingdoms: A player driven intrigue plot set after the fall of a great empire

House Komos

Basic info

Name: Sylla Komos
Nicknames/Aliases: The Iron Countess
Appearance:

Sylla is a fairly tall, slender woman with long raven black hair reaching down to her waist and pair of deep crimson eyes.

Unlike most ladies who prefer intricate dresses, Sylla prefers to stay in her combat gear most of the time, consisting of a linen shirt beneath a chainmail byrnie and a half-plate suit of armor, with her longsword at her hip and a shield and short-spear on her back.

On the formal occasions that she does have to dress formally, she wears a simple, but well made white silk dress with the sigil of her house embroidered on it.

Age: 23
Sex: Female

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Skill info

Skills:

Personal Combat(**): As the heir to a border county, one must always be ready for combat, and Sylla has been trained by her own father and various trainers both in close and long range combat.
Strategy(**): Perhaps as equally important as the personal combat on a border region such as this is being able to defeat or delay a superior enemy until reinforcements arrive and again, Syllia has absorbed this knowledge as eagerly as possible and has as a result become an adept strategist.
Intrigue(**): Deceit and courtly matters were not often a focus of House Komos, preffering to be an honest folk who choose to have all of their affairs out in the open. However, Sylla is someone who wishes to see her house safe from the machianations of other houses, both greater and lesser and as such, she has created and currently maintains a fairly extensive network of spies around the kingdom, her duchy and her personal county.
Silver-Tongue(*): As a consequence of her intrigue skills, Sylla has become quite an able speaker and persuader, helped quite a bit in this sense by her pleasing look.
Inspiration(*): A must in all skilled generals, Sylla has shown quite a talent for inspiring soldiers and others to go beyond their limits in order to achieve their goals(and by extension, hers).

Magic Skills: N/A

Knowledges:

History*
Politics*
Guerrilla Warfare*
Sieges*(both as a besieger and the besieged)

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Driving info

Goals: Sylla wishes to make her family's name known throughout the kingdom. She wishes to arrange a marriage a royal marriage with one of her children. She wishes to prove herself as a great commander to her current liege.
Belief/Motto: "When we die, our family name will be all that lives on."
Drive: Family

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Power info

Allegiance Owed:

King Emmund Pennikis of Cobsterra
Duke Beldra of Hyuon

Allegiance Received:

Baron Fokkas Sillas of House Sillas, ruler of Irongate Castle and the lands around it, Irongate Castle being the southernmost castle in the duchy and having the role of guarding the kingdom has much stronger fortifications. They are ardent supporters of House Komos.

Baroness Marianna Illin of House Illin, ruler Stonehaven Keep and of the once rich iron and gold mines around the castle itself. However, with the depletion of the gold mines and the decrease of the yield in the iron mines as well, the riches coming from this keep have massively decreased. Though they are loyal to House Komos, they have shown interest in the past to maybe take the place of their current overlord.

The Burgher of Osthaven(someone can sign up as this), is the title of the leader of only city in the county. The city itself serves more as a base for the kingdom's fleet in times of war. However, due to its location on the river, the city serves as a small but significant trading hub, giving a small but noticeable increase in revenue both to the burgher and to the count.

Debts Owed:

Through her father, Sylla has inherited part of a large debt towards her own vassal, Baroness Marianna Illin. The Baroness has specified that the debt can be paid in money, resources or a reduction in taxation and levy supply towards her.

Debts Received:

Past Commendable Deeds:

Despite her own debt, Sylla has used her significant revenue to pay off the debts of various merchants around the county and asking for nothing in return.

Past Condemnable Deeds:

Has executed several people whom she accused of being bandits, despite no proof of that being true at all.

Secrets:

While not an outright sadist, she does enjoy the sight of bloodshed once in a while.

Titles:

Countess of Komos
Shield of Hyuon(Hereditary Title granted by the Duke of Hyuon to House Komos)
Marcher Lord

Marriage Ties:

Currently, Sylla Komos is married to the brother of Duke Beldra and has already had two twin children with the lord, with the daughter(Malla) being just a few minutes older than her brother(Syro). Both are currently five years old.

County of Komos

The county of Komos has a sort of a special status within Hyuon and indeed Cobsterra itself, as its lords have been given the status of Marcher Lords, a status which significantly diminishes the amount of taxes and levies the lords have to provide to their liege and are given a fairly significant amount of autonomy. In return, however, the lords are to use these levies, this gold and this freedom to become the shields of the kingdom and become a buffer between the Kingdom itself and the Anma Coalition.

As a result, watchtowers and small forts dot the border between the county and the Anma Coalition as to delay a possible invasion for as long as possible. However, the most formidable castle on the border is Irongate, as it was designed by the architects of the kingdom to be as hard to siege as possible and to delay an enemy until an army can be raised. Of course, in this fortress are placed some of the best soldiers in the county and indeed the duchy.

And, the soldiers within Irongate, Komos and Hyuon are equipped with the steel that is produced from the iron dug out by the miners and produced by the smiths of Stonehaven. However, with its gold mines gone and its iron yields decreasing each week, the county has been forced to import ever more iron from abroad in order to equip its soldiers.

However, not all the gold comes from Stonehaven itself, the only town within the county, Osthaven is a fairly significant trading hub, as the merchant ships coming from the south, first have to stop in the city itself, either to trade, or to resupply for the rest of the trip north. The main port of the city itself, however, in meant to be as a place where the fleets of the kingdom are supposed to rest, should war start with the Coalition. There is currently no burgher acting as the head of the town and until a new one is elected, a council of prominent citizens have taken over its leadership.

The last and the most important place within the county of Komos is the fortress of Stonefall, being both an impressive fortress and a very important trading hub. The trade passing through the fortress has made some of the people going along the road settle in a town around the main fortress itself called perhaps quite unimaginatively Stonetown. Perhaps some of the desire of the people to settle here is in part because of the reputation of the fortress itself as having never been conquered or breached, plus it being the current seat of House Komos.

Smaller settlements and villages, while not protected by a castle, do have a small watchtower, so that any bandit attack can be seen in time and send word to the local lord to send help. While it does not always work, it has decreased the number of attacks on the smaller villages simply by fear that they are caught.